To wit, we all know that Japan forced hundreds of thousands of women into sexual slavery to be systemically raped for the pleasure of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. That was not cool, but that is history. But today the prime minister is in the 21st Century pretending that the whole thing didn't happen? Seriously? There are still tens of thousands of living witnesses, and he claims that a lack of documentation in your own records makes you doubt this fact of history? Yeah, that may cost you and your nation some points. And right now, you need points.

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America is not big on supporting countries that deny the indisputable facts of their past. We crucify ourselves on multiple issues on a regular basis, because we think that is the right thing to do, and we expect the same from our friends. Right now, Japan needs friends. Alienating Americans, at a swoop, by denying what your country did in exploiting women is probably not a good long-term move.

It is damned near impossible to teach the history of World War II to modern generations. Good history told well brings to light more than just the red and blue arrows moving across a map -- it explains the humanity.

When I am teaching students about the war in the Pacific, I realize that this means teaching them about the Japanese -- their politics, history, and culture, all of which are decidedly alien to the average American. Just outlining the Japanese reasoning in their decision to attack us at Pearl Harbor takes a good 45 minutes of classroom time to lay down the framework. It involves issues of Japanese hubris, racism, and flat-out ignorance. For those of us who own devices and cars that are mostly made in Japan this sometimes comes as a shock.

Even today, understanding Japan is no easy feat. Yes, they are a modern industrialized country with a high standard of living and a ridiculously advanced level of technology. At the same time it is a nation where the idea of "rest" is considered venal and "tentacle porn" has a strong following. Hell, men can supposedly buy used female underwear from vending machines, and the list goes on from there. The point being that the culture of Japan is not the same as ours. This explains a lot of things, but not everything.

That being said, the Prime Minister of Japan seems to be off his meds. He is aiming to refute Japan's apology for essentially enslaving tens of thousands of women. More or less this is like the United States denying that we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.

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Yes, much of the rest of the world can understand why a Prime Minister might go to the shrine, which encapsulate hundreds of years of his nation's history. We get that. Asian countries get upset, but your most important ally does not. But denying the fact -- let me say that again -- the FACT that Japan enslaved women for sex is substantiated.

More to the point, it is not cool that your party calls women forced into rape "comfort women." And let us not paraphrase. We will use the Japan Times translation. "At his first news conference as the new head of NHK, Momii on Jan. 25 argued that sex slave systems were used by 'every country' and that the practice should not be judged by 'today's morality.'"

We here in America, take this seriously. If you play around with the history of what your nation did to women from Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others, you might find the support from our continent somewhat muted. In fact, if you pretend that your country did not do what it did, I am guessing that you just lost the support of 170 million Americans, bare minimum. As you are playing border games with China right now, is that really your best option?

The opinions here are supported by millions of Koreans, Chinese, Philippines, Vietnamese, and countless others who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. They are not those of the current USG, DOD, DA, or any other body. I can be reached at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.

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